Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) Insider Sells 1,785 Shares

Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) insider R David Schmaier sold 1,785 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $344.00, for a total transaction of $614,040.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,575,904. The trade was a 8.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Salesforce Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of CRM stock opened at $338.45 on Friday. Salesforce, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $212.00 and a fifty-two week high of $369.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $328.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $282.57. The stock has a market cap of $323.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.30.

Salesforce (NYSE:CRM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, December 3rd. The CRM provider reported $2.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.35 billion. Salesforce had a net margin of 15.96% and a return on equity of 12.34%. Salesforce’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.62 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Salesforce, Inc. will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Salesforce Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 18th will be given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Salesforce’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.32%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Salesforce

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Nabity Jensen Investment Management Inc purchased a new stake in Salesforce in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,215,000. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Salesforce by 13.6% during the 3rd quarter. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 58,036 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $15,885,000 after buying an additional 6,938 shares during the period. Aljian Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Salesforce by 16.1% during the third quarter. Aljian Capital Management LLC now owns 13,258 shares of the CRM provider’s stock worth $3,629,000 after acquiring an additional 1,834 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its position in shares of Salesforce by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 24,028 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $6,577,000 after purchasing an additional 1,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Salesforce by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,780,318 shares of the CRM provider’s stock valued at $5,395,132,000 after acquiring an additional 257,501 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.43% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CRM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Cfra set a $343.00 price target on Salesforce in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Salesforce from $360.00 to $400.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Salesforce from $330.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Salesforce from $340.00 to $430.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of Salesforce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirty have assigned a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $378.86.

About Salesforce

Salesforce, Inc provides Customer Relationship Management (CRM) technology that brings companies and customers together worldwide. The company's service includes sales to store data, monitor leads and progress, forecast opportunities, gain insights through analytics and artificial intelligence, and deliver quotes, contracts, and invoices; and service that enables companies to deliver trusted and highly personalized customer support at scale.